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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kid — child
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. vault — a safe
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — an illness
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. chest — of your body
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com